Wisdom of Right and Folly of Ignorance

Proverbs 14:1-12

1 The wise woman builds her house,
But the foolish pulls it down with her hands.

2 He who walks in his uprightness fears the LORD,
But he who is perverse in his ways despises Him.

3 In the mouth of a fool is a rod of pride,
But the lips of the wise will preserve them.

4 Where no oxen are, the trough is clean;
But much increase comes by the strength of an ox.

5 A faithful witness does not lie,
But a false witness will utter lies.

6 A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it,
But knowledge is easy to him who understands.

7 Go from the presence of a foolish man,
When you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.

8 The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way,
But the folly of fools is deceit.

9 Fools mock at sin,
But among the upright there is favor.

10 The heart knows its own bitterness,
And a stranger does not share its joy.

11 The house of the wicked will be overthrown,
But the tent of the upright will flourish.

12 There is a way that seems right to a man,
But its end is the way of death.

Here is much to do about nothing for the fool who says in his heart there is no God and lives in that ignorance (Psalm 14:1, 53:1).  The wise builds up instead of tearing down their life and livelihood, like the woman here building her house and the fool who pulls it to the ground, leaving nothing to live in anymore.  Wisdom knows the foundation is on God with understanding of that knowledge, while foolishness denies the facts and ruins what comes from His hand to us.  By living according to His word in that knowledge is fearing the LORD and living accordingly; living contrary to that knowledge is foolish perversion of the truth, leading the fool to mock and despise the wise (Jude 1:18).  We observe this in the world all around us, especially when we do what is good and right in God’s sight.  Pride is the fuel driving the fool’s mouth and the rod which beats them, where wisdom would have words which preserve life and godliness instead of pulling our house down.  Wisdom preserves life.  Yes, the fool thinks keeping the trough empty is easier, but there is no gain if it is not able to hold nourishment for the stock to live and multiply in strength.  It takes effort to feed and grow, for showing a clean exterior means there is no life or strength for living without that wisdom to put knowledge into practice.  Also the wise understand that faithfulness means truthfulness, while foolishness lies for temporary gain which ends badly.  The foolish also scoff and mock the wise as they cannot find wisdom in themselves or their lies apart from God’s word of understanding and wisdom.  The philosophy of men is a dead end without God’s truth (Colossians 2:8).  It is not wise in God’s eyes.  Those who are wise will seek out true wisdom and find it as they seek understanding.  Therefore, it is wise to avoid the foolish who continue in their folly of faux knowledge and wisdom in themselves when it is clear that they only desire their own words and ways.  They offer only deceptive ways leading into the barren wilderness, while wisdom seeks to understand God’s ways of righteousness and how to walk down its path towards the Celestial City.  Yes, fools will mock at the wise telling of sin and miss the grace of God in rejecting Him as the word and wisdom (John 1:1, 1 Corinthians 1:24, 30) of God.  Furthermore, the righteous know and understand their own bitterness of their sin which others cannot grasp outside their own, but have the assurance that God knows and forgives with eternal atonement to forgive to know the heart’s joy as well.  In the end when judgment comes on the world, the house of the wicked will fall (Matthew 7:26-27) but that of the righteous in Christ (the wisdom of God) will stand firm and flourish forever (Matthew 7:24-25).  Then we will all know the full wisdom of understanding that the way which seems right to us only ends in death (Romans 6:21, Galatians 6:8), while God’s way of righteousness and truth for life is wisdom indeed!  This is the wisdom of right and the folly of willful ignorance and rejection of God’s instruction.